Elon Musk Named 2014 Lifeboat Foundation Guardian Award
Winner

The 2014 Lifeboat Foundation Guardian Award has been given to
Elon Musk in recognition of his warnings about artificial intelligence,
his promotion of space exploration including the creation of
self-sustaining space colonies, and his efforts to improve our
environment with electric cars and to expand solar energy generation.

Elon is often likened to a real-life
Tony Stark
from Marvel’s Iron Man comics for his role in cutting-edge
companies including SpaceX, a private space exploration company that holds the
first private contracts from NASA for resupply of the International
Space Station, and the electric car company Tesla Motors.
Watch Elon in Iron Man 2!

Artificial Intelligence

He recently described his investments in AI research as "keeping an eye
on what’s going on" rather than aiming for a viable return on capital. He
said, “I think we should be very careful about artificial
intelligence. If I had to guess at what our biggest existential threat is,
it’s probably that. So we need to be very careful.”

Considering that oversight of AI development by governmental and
nongovernmental agencies is about zero, it is helpful for Elon to bring
attention to this matter. For example, thanks to warnings like his, Google
now has an
AI Ethics Board. (This matters since Google is putting a lot of resources
into creating smarter and smarter AIs.)

Self-Sustaining Space Colonies

There are many
existential risks that could be survived if we had
self-sustaining colonies outside of the Earth. Elon
said, “What
matters is being able to establish a self-sustaining civilization on
Mars, and I don’t see anything being done but SpaceX. I don’t
see anyone else even trying.” He also
said, “Sooner or later,
we must expand life beyond this green and blue ball —
or go extinct.”

Elon is CEO and CTO of SpaceX.
Historic achievements by SpaceX, among others, include the first
privately funded, liquid-fueled rocket (Falcon 1) to reach orbit in
September 2008; the first privately funded company to successfully
launch (Falcon 9), orbit, and recover a spacecraft (Dragon) in
December 2010; and the first private company to send a spacecraft
(Dragon) to the International Space Station in May 2012. The
launch of SES-8 in December 2013 was the first SpaceX delivery into
geosynchronous orbit.

Sustainable Energy

Elon is CEO, Chairman, and Product Architect of
Tesla Motors.
Tesla first gained widespread attention following their production of
the Tesla Roadster, the first fully electric sports car. The
company’s second vehicle is the Model S, a fully electric luxury sedan,
and its next two vehicles are the Models X and 3 respectively.

Tesla also markets electric powertrain components, including lithium-ion
battery packs to automakers including Daimler and Toyota. Elon
has said that he envisions Tesla as an independent
automaker, aimed at eventually offering electric cars at prices
affordable to the average consumer.

Elon is Chairman of
SolarCity, the second largest provider of solar power systems in the
United States.
Continuing its strong growth, the United States installed 1,354
megawatts of solar photovoltaics in Q3 2014, up 41 percent
over the same period last year. Only 440 megawatts had been installed in
all of 2009 to show how fast this market is growing.